{"id":6396,"date":"2016-01-29T10:21:23","date_gmt":"2016-01-29T15:21:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/?p=6396"},"modified":"2016-01-29T10:21:23","modified_gmt":"2016-01-29T15:21:23","slug":"hogan-nearly-two-tons-of-prescription-drugs-collected-in-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/?p=6396","title":{"rendered":"Hogan: nearly two tons of prescription drugs collected in 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"MedBoxes\"<\/a>

West Goshen Police Chief Joe Gleason, State Rep. Becky Corbin and Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan with one of the many prescription drug collection boxes located around the county. Hogan said Friday that the program collected nearly two tons of drugs in 2015.<\/p><\/div>\n

WEST CHESTER \u2014 Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan announced Friday that 3,747 pounds of prescription drugs were collected in 2015 through the Chester County drug drop box program. The program places secure drop boxes\u00a0 <\/span>in police stations around Chester County so that citizens can safely dispose of prescription medications.<\/span><\/p>\n

“The Chester County drug drop box program has been a tremendous success,” Hogan said. “We have safely taken almost two tons of prescription drugs out of circulation. Those are drugs that will never cause a child to overdose or become addicted to opiates. Those are drugs that will never get into our ground water and drinking water. Chester County is proud of this program.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Representative Becky Corbin, a key early supporter of the program said that the program has really been embraced by county residents. <\/span><\/p>\n

“Until this initiative was launched, many people didn’t know how to properly dispose of excess pain medications or that it was important to do so,” Corbin said. “I am glad the word is getting out and residents are responding. It is important that unused prescription painkillers not be stored in the home.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The drug drop box program originally was started through a grant from the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association. More boxes were added later through funding from Pennsylvania American Water.<\/span><\/p>\n

The drug drop boxes work as follows. Citizens can drop off prescription drugs or over-the-counter medications in the drug drop boxes.\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>The boxes are secure boxes located in police stations or other safe areas. The drop-offs are anonymous. The medication periodically is picked up by members of the Chester County Detectives and disposed of safely.<\/span><\/p>\n

Disposing of drugs \u2014 rather than allowing them to enter the water supply, or worse end up in the hands of those who would abuse them \u2014 helps battle a growing problem with prescription drug abuse.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Chester County isn’t immune to the opiate drug addiction crisis, and while education, treatment and recovery services are very important, so too are programs such as this, that actually take prescription drugs out of circulation,”Chester County Commissioner Michelle Kichline said. “The steady level of drugs being collected month after month indicates that prescription practices need to be addressed, beginning with a reduction in the number of pills like OxyContin, Percocet, and Vicodin being prescribed by hospitals, urgent care facilities, and even family doctors.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Local police have seen the immediate impact of the program as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

“(The) West Goshen Police Department commends the Chester County District Attorney’s\u00a0 <\/span>Office for the drug drop box program,” said Joe Gleason, Chief of the West Goshen Police Department, one of\u00a0 <\/span>the participating police departments. “This program provides an invaluable tool for anyone to contribute to the betterment of society by removing the availability of prescription drugs being put into the wrong\u00a0 <\/span>hands. The residents of West Goshen Township continue to utilize this program daily which indicates the enormous benefit it provides.”<\/span><\/p>\n

According to current statistics, approximately 70% of the United States population will take some type of prescription medication every year. The three most prescribed drugs in the United States are (in order): (1) antibiotics; (2) antidepressants; and (3) opiates, such as oxycodone.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the Southeastern Pennsylvania region, the largest drug threat currently comes from prescription drugs and heroin, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. This is the first time in the history of the region that prescription drugs have emerged as the largest threat.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nationwide, more people are dying from prescription drug overdoses than from overdoses of any and all illegal drugs (including heroin, cocaine, and amphetamines). In Chester County for 2015, there were 57 overdose deaths. Out of these deaths, prescription drugs were involved in 42 deaths.<\/span><\/p>\n

The most abused prescription drugs in the United States today are opioids, such as oxycodone. A few simple statistics show the explosive growth of this class of drugs. In 1998, 11.5 tons of oxycodone were produced world-wide. By 2010, 122.5 tons of oxycodone were produced. Over 80% of the oxycodone produced is consumed in the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n

“The success of the program is huge and the impact on our communities is significant,” said Vince Brown, the Executive Director of Chester County’s Drug & Alcohol Services. “There is a direct link between the availability of prescription medication and the heroin epidemic and overdose deaths we’re facing nationally, in Pennsylvania and right here in Chester County. What experts lmow is that individuals with heroin addictions today are younger and more frequently getting hooked on drugs ‘not on the street,’ but ‘in the medicine cabinet.’ Raising awareness and getting the medications out of the house and disposed of properly means a safer environment for our children, families, and communities.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Hogan said he and his colleagues have been surprised at how the program continues to take drugs off the streets.<\/span><\/p>\n

“When we started this program, we expected to see a large amount of prescription drugs turned in at first, but then for the amounts to decrease,” Hogan said. “Instead, we have seen a steady supply of prescription drugs being collected every month, demonstrating the prevalence of prescription drugs in our society, particularly opioids. This program is part of Chester County’s multi\u00ad disciplinary approach to fighting the problems caused by drug abuse.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The drug drop boxes can be found at the following locations:<\/span><\/p>\n

Caln Township Police Department 253 Municipal Drive<\/span><\/p>\n

Thorndale, PA 19320<\/span><\/p>\n

City of Coatesville Police Department 1 City Hall<\/span><\/p>\n

Coatesville, PA 19320<\/span><\/p>\n

East Brandywine Twp.<\/span><\/p>\n

Police Department 1212 Horseshoe Pike<\/span><\/p>\n

Downingtown, PA 19335<\/span><\/p>\n

Kennett Square Borough Police Department 115 N. Broad Street<\/span><\/p>\n

Kennett Square, PA 19348<\/span><\/p>\n

New Garden Township Police Department<\/span><\/p>\n

8934 Gap Newport Pike Landenburg, PA 19350<\/span><\/p>\n

North Coventry Township Police Department<\/span><\/p>\n

845 South Hanover Street Pottstown, PA 19464<\/span><\/p>\n

Tredyffrin Township Police Department 1100 DuPortail Road<\/span><\/p>\n

Berwyn, PA 19312<\/span><\/p>\n

Valley Township Police Department<\/span><\/p>\n

890 W. Lincoln Highway Coatesville, PA 19320<\/span><\/p>\n

Upper Uwchlan Township Police Department<\/span><\/p>\n

140 Pottstown Pike Chester Springs, PA 19425<\/span><\/p>\n

West Brandywine Twp.<\/span><\/p>\n

Police Department 198 Lafayette Road<\/span><\/p>\n

Coatesville, PA 19320<\/span><\/p>\n

West Caln Township Police Department<\/span><\/p>\n

721 W Kings Highway Coatesville, PA 19320<\/span><\/p>\n

West Goshen Township Police Department<\/span><\/p>\n

l 025 Paoli Pike West Chester, PA 19382<\/span><\/p>\n

Oxford Borough Police Department 57 N. Fourth Street Oxford, PA 19363<\/span><\/p>\n

Parkesburg Borough Police Department<\/span><\/p>\n

315 W. First Ave., Bldg. 2<\/span><\/p>\n

Parkesburg, PA 19365<\/span><\/p>\n

Phoenixville Borough Police Department 351 Bridge Street<\/span><\/p>\n

Phoenixville, PA 19460<\/span><\/p>\n

Sheriff s Office Chester County Justice Ctr.<\/span><\/p>\n

201 W. Market Street West Chester, PA 19380<\/span><\/p>\n

West Vincent Township Police Department<\/span><\/p>\n

729 St. Matthews Road Chester Springs, PA 19425<\/span><\/p>\n

West Whiteland Township Police Department<\/span><\/p>\n

101 Commerce Drive<\/span><\/p>\n

Exton, PA 19341<\/span><\/p>\n

Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police Department 1041 Wilmington Pike<\/span><\/p>\n

West Chester, PA 19382<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WEST CHESTER \u2014 Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan announced Friday that 3,747 pounds of prescription drugs were collected in 2015 through the Chester County drug drop box program. The program places secure drop boxes\u00a0 in police stations around Chester County so that citizens can safely dispose of prescription medications. “The Chester County drug drop […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6395,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,8],"tags":[3897,3899,3898],"class_list":["post-6396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-featured","tag-chster-county","tag-collection-boxes","tag-prescription-drugs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6396"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6396\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}